wwat Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 Hello Michel, I just need to get some further clarification regarding charging for modules. Is it your policy to create modules and charge for them for ALL new Insteon hardware released from any vender? i.e say Smarthome came out with a new type of switch, would we be required to buy a module for that? Can you please clarify what your policy is for making a seperate module as opposed to including NEW hardware functionality into the free upgrades. Thank you, Wayne
Steve Sullivan Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 If you are asking of udi charges for insteon compatibility I'm fairly certain the answer is no. If you are suggesting that udi does charge for this then well ... I'm really curious where you got this impression. As far as I know there are three modules at the moment that are charged for and each of them have nothing to do with being a smathome device. Seems to me UDI works tirelessly to support insteon devices without charging anything. Maybe you could explain your position more clearly for clarification? For example what modules are you speaking of?? The weather bug module simply brings weather data into the isy system in order to take advantage of weather data in programs. The breultech monitors energy usage and the module brings the ability to program the isy for energy related needs. The last module has to do with utility providers and gives the ability to program based on peak and off peak electrical usage. Am I missing something here? It seems to me that UDI doesn't charge for insteon compatibility. It's included in the hardware price.rh
wwat Posted December 13, 2008 Author Posted December 13, 2008 Hi Steve, Firstly, my position is very simple, I'm a perspective buyer of the product and want to know what future costs I will be up for if I purchased ISY99IR. Initially I was under the impression that all upgrades for the product were included. Then I found there were charges for a few additional modules and then I see the manufacture is creating the ability to purchase more modules within the software in the latest version. I just want to know what I will and wont be charged for in future. The Smarthomes example was only an example. What about products from this company www.simplehomenet.com, are they automatically compatible or is a module necessary? Thanks, Wayne If you are asking of udi charges for insteon compatibility I'm fairly certain the answer is no.If you are suggesting that udi does charge for this then well ... I'm really curious where you got this impression. As far as I know there are three modules at the moment that are charged for and each of them have nothing to do with being a smathome device. Seems to me UDI works tirelessly to support insteon devices without charging anything. Maybe you could explain your position more clearly for clarification? For example what modules are you speaking of?? The weather bug module simply brings weather data into the isy system in order to take advantage of weather data in programs. The breultech monitors energy usage and the module brings the ability to program the isy for energy related needs. The last module has to do with utility providers and gives the ability to program based on peak and off peak electrical usage. Am I missing something here? It seems to me that UDI doesn't charge for insteon compatibility. It's included in the hardware price.rh
Steve Sullivan Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 Hi Wayne, I apologize if I came off as a bit rash. I was writing on my iphone and to be honest was too tired to edit last night... Maybe Michel or another member could explain further but here are my thoughts. All upgrades are provided at no charge, these are firmware upgrades and enhancements, Beta is released very frequently but it is beta so expect the possibility of bugs if you choose to use it. If your not into that just use the last stable firmware version, 2.6.11 seems pretty good. There are optional modules that UDI charges for but these go above and beyond insteon. For the average ISY user I don't think there is much of a need for them. As far as products from simplehomenet, UDI hasn't been charging for support of these and they are not dependent on modules to work. There are some issues with support for some of their devices though. Technical reasons above and beyond my understanding. There are threads devoted to these products on the forum. I'd check them out and see if any devices you may be interested in would have issues. I've only been active on here for a few weeks and have only had my Insteon products and ISY99 for a few weeks. I can say there is a small learning curve but the effort is well worth it. The ISY opens up all sorts of possibilities for HA. I'm truly impressed with the product, the forums are excellent, and UDI's support is phenomenal. Hope that helps a bit, good luck Steve Hi Steve, Firstly, my position is very simple, I'm a perspective buyer of the product and want to know what future costs I will be up for if I purchased ISY99IR. Initially I was under the impression that all upgrades for the product were included. Then I found there were charges for a few additional modules and then I see the manufacture is creating the ability to purchase more modules within the software in the latest version. I just want to know what I will and wont be charged for in future. The Smarthomes example was only an example. What about products from this company www.simplehomenet.com, are they automatically compatible or is a module necessary? Thanks, Wayne If you are asking of udi charges for insteon compatibility I'm fairly certain the answer is no.If you are suggesting that udi does charge for this then well ... I'm really curious where you got this impression. As far as I know there are three modules at the moment that are charged for and each of them have nothing to do with being a smathome device. Seems to me UDI works tirelessly to support insteon devices without charging anything. Maybe you could explain your position more clearly for clarification? For example what modules are you speaking of?? The weather bug module simply brings weather data into the isy system in order to take advantage of weather data in programs. The breultech monitors energy usage and the module brings the ability to program the isy for energy related needs. The last module has to do with utility providers and gives the ability to program based on peak and off peak electrical usage. Am I missing something here? It seems to me that UDI doesn't charge for insteon compatibility. It's included in the hardware price.rh
G W Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 Modules go above and byond the mormal ISY. You don't need any modules to preform any Insteon functions. If you look at the modeules available, you will see that they interface with non-insteon products.
G W Posted December 13, 2008 Posted December 13, 2008 The Smarthomes example was only an example. What about products from this company www.simplehomenet.com, are they automatically compatible or is a module necessary? Thanks, Wayne UDI is working to provide 100% function with all Insteon products at no extra charge.
wwat Posted December 13, 2008 Author Posted December 13, 2008 Thank you both, I think the penny has finally dropped. If I have this correct, generally speaking ISY should remain compatible with Insteon products and the developers are committed to maintaining that compatibility with the beta upgrades and new releases. ISY software development for other manufacturers are on top of that. Thank you for your patience, sometimes simple things like this are not obvious to the novice. Best, Wayne
Michel Kohanim Posted December 14, 2008 Posted December 14, 2008 Mr. Sullivan and Gary, Thanks so very much for your input and you are 100% correct: we do not charge for INSTEON compatibility enhancements. Wayne, We are doing our best to support SimpleHomeNet devices. This said, however, we have had a lot of technical difficulties. With kind regards, Michel Thank you both, I think the penny has finally dropped. If I have this correct, generally speaking ISY should remain compatible with Insteon products and the developers are committed to maintaining that compatibility with the beta upgrades and new releases. ISY software development for other manufacturers are on top of that. Thank you for your patience, sometimes simple things like this are not obvious to the novice. Best, Wayne
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